Scores by sport

St. Scholastica found some respite from recent turbulence Thursday night as it downed defending Division III state champion No. 3 Ursuline in four sets, 25-17, 16-25, 25-22, 25-14.

Sophomore Gabby Chaix drove the fifth-ranked Doves (11-7) to several runs that would prove off putting for a young Lions team recovering from the loss of several key starters. Chaix led St. Scholastica with a match-best 19 kills followed by Jessica Lucio’s 10 kills and Emma Estapa’s game-high 46 assists.

After starting sets one and two neck and neck, Division II St. Scholastica ripped off five straight points to start the third. Estapa started off with a kill and Morris nailed her third ace to force Ursuline to call an early time out.

The Lions responded and tied the game at 12 after a block kill by senior Lauren Barre. After a nose-to-nose finish yielded a 25-22 St. Scholastica win, the Doves quickly took the upper hand in the fourth and final set.

According to Chaix, the Doves have been having increased success mastering an expanding repertoire of offensive schemes.

“I think we’ve been running a lot more plays with the offense, so when we started getting those down it motivated us a lot more,” Chaix said. “We definitely picked up our energy and that’s always good. When we really get into the game we do really well.”

Barre’s senior leadership was ever present for Ursuline (6-9). Barre downed 11 kills, including three block kills, to help stabilize the Lions against prolonged runs. Meghan Mailhos had a match-high four aces along with 17 assists, while Rhonda Wilson again led the state champs in the backcourt, scooping 15 digs.

Mailhos launched a pair of aces to cap the Lions’ 25-16 set two win.

Ursuline Coach Jay Jay Juan complimented the Doves first touch finesse, which he says made it difficult for his squad to regain its rhythm late in the game.

“They were able to control he flow and the tempo a lot better, their first ball contact was a lot better than ours and that threw us off,” Juan said.

Juan said he is unconcerned by what may appear to be a difficult week for Ursuline. After losing their first match of the season to John Curtis last Thursday, the Lions finished 2-3 in the Catholic League Tournament before losing to Pope John Paul II in four sets Tuesday. According to Juan, that’s all part of a growth process that he hopes will lead his team back to the Pontchartrain Center in November.

“That’s one of the main things we’ve got to be in position (to control the ball) and with a young club is that you’re going to go through progressions like that,” he said. “That’s why you’re playing in September, to get ready for October and November.”

Ursuline now faces its second straight tournament weekend at Woodlawn starting tomorrow and will return to pre-district play on Tuesday at Country Day. St. Scholastica has weekend off before squaring off at Salmen on Tuesday.